


Maybe You Can't

by clexa_rules_the_earth



Category: The 100
Genre: Arkadia, Azgeda, F/F, Ice Nation - Freeform, Trikru, Violence, War, alternative universe, the dropship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2016-07-16
Packaged: 2018-05-30 00:38:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6400519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clexa_rules_the_earth/pseuds/clexa_rules_the_earth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Trikru and Azgeda have lost patience with eachother at last resulting in a battle that may or may not leave the Commander in the hands of a certain stranger.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning of War

The fight between these two grounder clans had been long-awaited. There have been many tries for peace but none had prevailed. Azgeda attacked and destroyed a Trikru village. That had been the last straw for commander Lexa. She had tried to make peace with them after they killed her girlfriend and cut off her head and yet here they were sitting in the trees with their armies at their backs waiting for an excuse to attack.

Neither side could see the other though the dense foliage. However both knew that the enemy was there. The leaders of both clans patiently waited perched in the treetops. Commander Lexa sat scanning the treetops in front of her and couldn't see any movement. If she looked to either side of her she would see hundreds of her warriors looking into the trees as well. She had instructed them not to move until she gave the command. All of them stood stoic, unmoving, waiting.

Lexa had positioned herself above the ground, not too high up in the tree so that she could drop down without harming herself. She in a crouching position, hand resting on the hilt of her blade. Not so much as tapping a finger or adjusting her unfortunately uncomfortable footing she stared into the distance. She felt the bark of the tree at her back, the comfortable reassuring feeling of her dagger in her palm. The thick air drawing patience from everyones lungs. The air buzzed with hidden anticipation. She could sense it in her men as well. Everyone on the field were magnets drawn to one another awaiting an inevitable collision.

She heard a sudden crack of an arrow leaving its drawstring from somewhere in front of her shattering the air around it. She continued to stay still waiting, heart beating only slightly faster. She heard a thump and the ever so familiar sound of an object penetrating flesh. It was not her own but one of her warriors not more than 5 feet above her who fell backwards off of their branch ripping the bark under their feet off the tree sending it into the air above and into her hair. He fell towards the ground breaking a few tree branches and landing with a disturbing, audible snapping.

She hadn't even turned her head to watch the man fall, or look at his body resting on the ground, or look at the pool of blood soaking into the earth. The only thing that interested her about the scenario was where the arrow had come from. She could feel the glares from the Warriors around her. She tensed up, ready to spring from her position. They were expecting her to give the command to attack. No other arrows or sounds came from the land in front of them. Slowly raising her hand, which drew the attention of everybody around her she held up one finger. _Wait_. She could feel their uncertainty of the command. They were anxious to attack. Her hand still being up, she raised her second finger. _Get ready_. She heard a few men adjust their positions around her preparing to move. Quickly she closed her hand into a fist. _Attack_.

Chaos ensued shortly after. Her archers shot into the trees across from them not quite having targets they could see. Several other warriors dropped from their trees and ran forward. Similar reactions were received from the other side. Battle cries echoed through the forests. She jumped to the tree in front of her with precision and agility. She rested her back on the tree trunk. She had her hand on the hilt at her side, it was looking for blood. She was looking for blood. _Jus drien jus daun_ , she thought to herself. _For Costia_. She turned her head slightly looking out at her surroundings. An Azgeda warrior was coming in her direction quickly so she took the opportunity to grab and dig her nails into the tree using her arms to pull her up onto the branch. Once the man was underneath her standing in her previous spot, still oblivious to her presence she dropped behind him carefully with ease. She reached out and put her right arm around his neck lifting his chin towards the treetops while pulling him backwards slightly throwing him off balance. Swiftly she reached up with her dagger and slid the sharp metal across his exposed neck pulling towards her. The air quickly filled with blood as the man instantly fell limp under her arm. Kicking the man forward with her foot she turned away. She didn't watch him fall to the ground. She felt no pain, she felt no guilt. Killing was her life, it's how she kept order.

She continued jumping from tree to tree all the while making sure she wasn't followed. One of her own was on the ground fighting off 2 men and a woman. She was quick to come to his aid by pausing for a moment above him calculating her attack before jumping down from her branch with dagger in hand stained red from its previous victim. She brought it down on the first mans head immediately killing him. Quickly drawing her sword from behind her back she leaned back away from the womans attack. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her warrior shove his blade upwards under the Azgeda's chin into his head causing the man to instantly drop dead. With her sword in hand she cut through the woman's defense with ease. She kicked the woman in the stomach causing her to doubled over. She took a shaky breath in and coughed. Lexa saw an archer behind her and quickly took a throwing knife from her belt and hurled it at the man behind her causing him to drop out of the tree and fall he the ground. She turned back to the woman on the ground. She looked at Lexa and seemed to silently beg for forgiveness. Expression never changing the Commander drove her blade through the woman's back, being met with little resistance.

Two men ran at her shouting through the chaos. Lexa removed her blade from the woman's back and turned to face the men. The first one was unfortunately slightly ahead of the other. Slicing through the first mans jugular Lexa quickly spun around and threw her sword at the approaching man, causing the blade to stick in his chest as he fell to the ground. When the man fell on the blade it went and buried itself further in his chest. With her foot she flipped his body over onto its back and unscathed her weapon. She took a moment to toss herself up into a nearby tree.

She heard a branch creak above her, no doubt the fatal and last mistake of person trying to sneak up. Without acknowledging she knew he was there she waited, and with perfect timing she jumped off of her current branch in the direction of another not to far away. She fell and reached up for it, she grabbed the branch above her head causing it to snap under her weight. Her shoulder slammed into the tree trunk taking the full force of the blow. Now on the ground she leaned against the tree baring her teeth in silent pain as the attacker fall past her previous location to the ground where he fell. He got up slowly and stumbled, trying to regain his balance on uneven ground. One of her own warriors ran at him quickly thrusting their blade through his chest and pushing him backwards to the ground.

The pain in her shoulder spread, she felt it in her chest, shooting down her side. Her left arm felt like it was on fire. Pins and needles stuck in her shoulder blades. Holding her arm she stood up from the tree. One of her own warriors paused above her. She would never show weakness. She would never ask for help. He extended his arm down towards the ground in her direction. She let go of her shoulder and used her good arm to reach for his hand.

She was almost on his branch and since it was so high her feet were no longer on the ground. Suddenly Lexa saw a blade protrude from her warriors forehead. His arm went slack and she tried to pull herself up which resulted in an immense amount of pain from her right arm. She fell back and reached behind her with her good arm to painfully crash into the earth at the base of the tree. Her right arm twisted and she silently moaned and clenched her teeth in pain. She saw the Ice Nation warrior who had killed the man approach her.

"You're coming with me," said the deep voice, "Queen Nia needs you alive, but you killed my brother-" He stabbed her in the leg with his dagger. She felt so much pain shoot through her thigh, but she would not give this man the satisfaction of her pain. "-so you're going to suffer." He spoke the last word with such hatred and boiling anger that it was a deep growl.

Through the wave of nausea overcoming her she saw a blurry figure come behind the man and slit his throat, causing him to fall on top of her. Kicking the man off of Lexa The figure picked her up with their arm behind her head and their other holding her legs. After getting Lexa situated in their arms they ran. Soon it all just became a blur. _Poison_ , Lexa thought. _The blade..._ Lexa could do nothing as she soon lost consciousness in a strangers arms. _Weakness... The Ice Queen... Costia... Death..._


	2. Who Are You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa awakes in the presence of an unknown stranger.

Regaining consciousness on the back of a galloping horse was not the scenario Lexa had imagined. Her head felt as if it was going to split in half. Her neck rested uncomfortably between the strangers shoulder blades moving slightly in rhythm with the horses movement. Stiff and aching she didn't dare move. Her good arm wrapped limply around their waist. Her hand rested gently on the strangers thigh. She soon noticed her dagger wasn't resting against her hip. Her sword, she figured, had been lost.

Lexa realized that this person was not one of her own. They didn't wear traditional body armor. Her warriors wore rough leather armor that covered the entirety of their chest and sometimes their arms. The stranger didn't seem to be wearing any armor at all. They didn't cary a sword on their back, but a bow and quiver hung off their right shoulder. No doubt because Lexa's head occupied its normal position.

The person suddenly reached back and put their left arm around Lexa's waist. In full gallop they quickly threw their right leg over the horse in an anxious dismount. Falling to the ground they turned in midair clutching Lexa tightly to their chest as they hit the ground flat on their back. Hitting the ground with disturbingly painful crack of a weight hitting earth could be heard underneath her. They almost instantly let go of Lexa. They rolled her off of them as quickly and gently as they could. Lexa happened to roll over her shoulder which caused a sharp wince to escape her throat. The figure on the ground arched their chest upwards and released a deep pained groan. Lexa used her good arm to get on her knees. The hooded figure who took the fall still laid there with their bow and quiver a few feet to the left. An abrupt shriek came from the direction they were heading. Lexa's eyes shot up. She looked in the direction of the noise and saw nothing. A loud crash followed soon after, slightly startling Lexa.

Shakily getting up onto her feet she turned and ran. She ran away from the noise. Away from the stranger. She had no idea where she was or where she was going. Her run soon became a staggered limp. Whenever she stepped she reignited the pain in her leg.

A hand came down on her left shoulder yanking her backwards. She turned quickly to her left grabbing the strangers arm and pushed them back. She ran at them shoving her good shoulder up into their chest causing them to go up slightly before crashing to the ground with Lexa on top of them (again). The figures breath staggered in their throat trying to inhale and failing to do so. Before they could regain their breath Lexa put her forearm to their throat, but didn't push quite yet.

"Who are you?" Lexa asked slowly.

The stranger took a long, ragged inhale before responding, "Clarke."

"I don't need your help," Lexa growled through closed teeth, "I can take care of myself."

The sudden familiar twang of an arrow leaveing its drawstring rang through the air. It was so distant, and very silent. Almost a whisper among the forest yet it was the only single sound Lexa heard. Before she could react Clarke reached and grabbed Lexa's shoulder. Ripping it towards the ground with almost all her strength. She instantaneously threw her leg over Lexa effectively switching their positions and hovered over Lexa, who was still containing a whimper of pain caused by contact with the ground. Not mere moments after, an arrow buzzed overhead burying itself into a trunk not inches away from where Lexa's head was previously.

Turning her head slightly to look at Lexa, Clarke whispered, "Maybe you can't."

Clarke sat up and reached for her bow which rested maybe 2 feet to her right when Lexa tried to move. Clarke was clearly done with her shit as she immediately placed her knee on the commanders injured thigh and applied pressure. Lexa didn't make a sound but visibly tensed. Clarke, still applying pressure to Lexa's thigh reached her bow. Her quiver was too far away to reach while keeping Lexa down. Instead she ripped the arrow that was previously shot at them out of the tree. She immediately set the arrow and drew, fingers slightly brushing her cheek she watched. Breathing steadily she looked in the direction the arrow had come from.

Clarke had heard, not seen the attacker. She was almost certain that this couldn't be the same person that had just shot at them. She turned quickly seeing a man in full armor jump out of a tree above them. Instantly releasing the drawstring from between her fingers the arrow reached its target. It went through the warriors left eye burying itself in the inside of his skull. After the body landing limply on the ground Clarke looked back to Lexa.

Clarke wrapped her arm around her, pulling her roughly up onto her feet. Pressing Lexa's dagger gingerly against her palm Clarke whispered, "trust me." Lexa's hand tightened around her weapon. Bending over, Clarke reached for her quiver and threw the strap over her head. She turned and ran further into the woods not looking to see if the other girl followed.

Lexa saw another man with a sword running towards her. Lexa set herself in his path, balancing gingerly with her dagger extended. The man sliced downwards at Lexa's head. She took a small step to the side, swiftly moving closer to him Lexa spun on her heel and elbowed him violently in the throat crushing his windpipe. He dropped to his knees gasping and clawing at his neck, begging for air that would not come. Reaching down Lexa picked up his weapon. It didn't fit comfortably in her palm. Maybe it was the size. Maybe the weight. The meaning that an Ice Nation blade had over her. The sinking feeling of what had once been done. Her grip tightened on the rough white leather hilt. Her chest burned with hatred. She clenched her jaw, took a step back and raised her arm. She glared at the man in front of her. His eyes widened, almost pleading her to forgive. Perhaps if he could speak he would have begged forgiveness, or innocence. Not that it would have mattered anyway. She jumped forward towards the man swinging her arm around. The blade came in contact with the mans neck, severing it easily from its position on his shoulders. It flew a few feet to the right, followed closely by the body hitting the ground. Blood poured copiously from the mans neck, drenching the ground in front of Lexa's feet. No sense of satisfaction washed over her. She didn't feel any better. She knew only one persons death could make her finally feel as if justice had finally been delt.

She heard another person appoach from behind her. She turned and saw a man with blade in hand. He had three white stripes of warpaint extending from his hairline to his jaw. He looked her in the eye and sprinted forward. Lexa readied herself once again for a fight. The man suddenly toppled off balance to his left and crashed to the earth with an arrow extending from his temple. Lexa looked at where the arrow came. Clarke walked out of the foliage towards the man. She didn't even acknowledge Lexa's presence. She placed her foot on the mans head, and gruesomely dislodged the arrow from his skull swiftly placing it back in her quiver.

"I don't need you." Lexa stated.

Clarke didn't look at her while replying, "Maybe you do."

"I can fight for myself."

Clarke looked up at Lexa and walked quickly up to her so that she was less than a foot away, "I don't doubt that, but you needed me."

Lexa paused, "Who are you?"

"You already asked me that."

"No, _who_ are you."

"I'm a survivor. Now, follow me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you enjoyed


	3. More Than I Can Handle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa continues to reluctantly follow the stranger who saved her.

Clarke jogged slow enough for Lexa to keep up, but fast enough to get to their destination before dark. Lexa watched the girl run and focused on her back instead of the pain in her leg. They reached the entrance to a cave that was pitch black. Lexa looked around. She didn't know where she was, or who she was really with. Running away seemed pointless, dangerous and would most likely result in her death due to lack of supplies and her current injuries. The girl noticed Lexa pause and commanded her, "follow me." At Lexa's noticeable hesitation Clarke walked up to her and grabbed one of the straps over Lexa's chest. Trying to back away from the girl and get out of her grasp was a mistake. Lexa was going with this girl whether she wanted to or not. Clarkes grip tightened and she pulled Lexa close to her.

Lexa quickly moved her leg behind the girls ankle and shoved her to the ground. She stood above the girl with her right hand resting in her left behind her back. The girl stood up in front of Lexa and threw a punch in her direction. Lexa easily dodged this. Missing the punch threw Clarke off balance and sent her moving past her opponent. Lexa elbowed her quickly between the shoulder blades as she passed, sending her face first towards the ground. Clarke caught herself and stood up to see Lexa gone.

——

"Alright," the person said calmly, "are you gonna use that or...?" Lexa slid the stained blade ever so slightly across the strangers neck causing blood to drip down under their shirt collar.  
"Ahh. Okay I wasn't serious. Please stop." Tilting her head ever so slightly Lexa looked curiously at the girl in front of her. Lexa removed the knife from the girls throat and placed it back in its holster, but put her arm against the strangers throat. "Okay thats-" Lexa pushed her arm harder against her windpipe so that the girl was almost choking, "-better," it sounded like a strangled croak, but the girl remained rather unfazed. Loosening her hold she commanded, "Your name. Now." The girl coughed before replying. "Octavia Blake. Now can you please lay off." Lexa glared at her questioningly.

A rather frantic, sprinting Clarke came to a stop and immediately smirked at the girl beneath Lexa. "What did you do?" Clarke sneered.

Lexa stared at girl who just appeared behind her. She felt Octavia move underneath her. She pushed once again with her arm against the girl. A small, strangled, pleading, "nothing" escaped the girl. Clarke seemed completely uninterested in what was going on between Lexa and Octavia. Instead she put more wood on the dying fire behind them before turning to address the current situation. Lexa heard the fire pop and la new light flooded the previously dark cave. She looked at Clarke and was curious but still wary, and kept firm press on Octavia's neck.

She was intrigued by Clarke. The way she moved. The way she walked. The way she talked. So confident, almost as if she had forgotten her previous fight with Lexa. All the while Lexa was choking her friend. Looking back to Octavia she loosened her hold again.

"Can you just let go?" Octavia asked.

"No."

"Well then. Be rude." Octavia taunted.

As soon as she finished the sentence Clarke came up behind her and grabbed her bad shoulder. Flipping Lexa painfully around so that her back was flush with the wall. The new girl put her leg against Lexa's own and didn't apply pressure, not doubt she would if Lexa gave Clarke a reason to. Lexa stared into the girls eyes and swallowed dryly with an extremely small smirk. They stood waiting for the other to do something. They were almost magnetic.

Octavia coughed into her fist. "Yeah. Thanks Clarke, but you know I had it handled right?"

Never taking her eyes off the brunette in front of her Clarke replied, "Oh I could tell. You just were handling it too slowly for my taste."

Lexa stared into the girls calm and controlling blue eyes.

"Let me go." Lexa commanded.

"Sorry, but no."

Lexa remained silent and steady. She could easily stop this girl, but at the moment she saw no imminent danger. She stared into Clarkes eyes, which seemed to be studying her.

"I'm going to let you go," Clarke stated plainly after a long moment. "but I didn't carry you all the way here to have you kill my friend."

Lexa felt the blondes breath on her cheeks. When Clarke let her go she backed up carefully. They stared at each other a bit longer. Clarke quickly walked over to a bucket of water in the corner with a towel while Octavia stood there, arms behind her back.

"Damn." Octavia said quietly.

"My people. The battle."

"Yeah you guys chose one hell of a spot to duke it out." Octavia said sourly.

Clarke shot Octavia a glare while pulling the neck of her shirt down to wipe away the blood.

"I have to leave." Lexa said.

"I can't let you do that." Clarke replied sharply.

Lexa's hand slowly felt for her dagger, it wasn't there. She looked down and looked back up slowly. Octavia held it in her hand and tossed it up in the air, catching it easily in her other hand. She pointed it and Clarke and said, "Told ya I had it handled." Clarke just looked at her, shook her head, and let out a silent chuckle.

Clarke turned and spoke, "You've lost a lot of blood. You wouldn't make it by yourself either."

"You doubt me?" Lexa questioned harshly.

"Oh I don't doubt you. You are more than capable of kicking my ass as well as anyone else's, but Ice Nation warriors are watching the forrest. You won't get a mile. Much less to Polis without a weapon or supplies."

Lexa visibly straightened at the mention of Azgeda. "I need to get back to Polis."

"And you soon will commander."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that I took forever coming out with this last chapter. I'm also sorry for it being rather short. A longer chapter will come soon. I also wondered about your opinions about Lexa. Did I make her seem to weak or vulnerable? Tell me what you think about the character personalities and I can make adjustments. Thank you for reading!


	4. Trust me

Lexa sat in a crouch against the back wall of the cave watching the two girls. She rested her elbows on her knees while holding her hands between them. She didn't speak to them while they moved around the cave. Clarke had cleaned Octavia's neck and now the cut from the blade was almost unnoticeable. Octavia held Lexa's dagger at her waist. They were right not to trust her with it, but it would almost be pointless to attack these two. They could help her get to Polis, they could kill her, or take her to the Ice Queen. No matter what happened it wouldn't matter what she did. She kills them and she would possibly die from starvation or exposure. She runs and Azgeda might find her and kill her, or keep her as a prisoner. Her only smart option was to stay with these two girls and try to stay alive. Clarke and Octavia almost ignored Lexa's presence while they talked and moved around occasionally.

 

"We will start making our way back to Arkadia first thing in the morning." Clarke spoke.

 

"We're bringing her?" Octavia whispered questioningly, gesturing slightly to Lexa with a tilt of her head.

 

Clarke glanced at Lexa briefly before answering, "Yes."

 

"What about Bell and Pike?" Octavia asked cautiously.

 

"We'll figure it out." Clarke replied.

 

"Then why can't we leave now? I mean it's not exactly difficult to at least get to camp."

 

"True, but without the light it'll be pitch black, plus we're not exactly in a rush."

 

"I can just make a torch." Octavia said.

 

"Do you remember how great that worked out for Miller?"

 

"Uhh. Yeah. No torch."

 

"Besides, why didn't you bring a light?" Clarke chastised.

 

"Alright you know what then? Let's wait till dawn."

 

Making no movement Lexa listened to their conversation. She was going to go to a place called Arkadia with them tomorrow. She had no idea what time it was currently due to the darkness of the cave, but assuming their use the word tomorrow she guessed it wasn't past midnight.

 

"I'm going to sleep, and I'm assuming you're keeping watch, but if you fall asleep and let her kill me Lincoln is going to be pretty pissed at you."

 

"I'm pretty sure that Bell and Raven wouldn't be to happy either." Clarke chuckled.

 

"I mean it though." Octavia said while laying down with her arm under her head.

 

Clarke smiled and shook her head. She sat against the opposite wall and looked at Lexa who just stared back. Clarke sat and watched herat while fidgeting with something in her hands for what seemed like hours. She glanced at her sleeping friend and it wasn't long before she walked over towards Lexa and mirrored her current position.

 

"Damn. This is uncomfortable. You just sit like this normally?"

 

Lexa remained silent. This girl intrigued her. When she fought she was serious, and to be completely honest, deadly. She seemed to always maintain a layer of sarcasm in any situation. Now though, alone, this girl seemed normal. Someone who has never been in war, has never taken life, but yet Lexa could still see the hidden, haunting pain behind her eyes from something that either happened to her, or something she had done.

 

"This position might not help your leg." Clarke continued.

 

Lexa simply continued to stare at the girl. Clarke touched the area on her thigh that seemed to be extremely inflamed. Lexa immediately pulled her leg away. Lexa pushed up away from the ground till she was standing, or basically balancing on her uninjured leg. She saw Clarke look down at the ground for a moment before standing up as well. The girl was slightly shorter than her but stood her ground before Lexa.

 

"Let me help. I did save your life after all. There's no reason for you not to trust me." Clarke almost pleaded.

 

Lexa could think of a few reasons not to trust this girl, but remained silent. She had dealt with far worse pain than she was in currently.

 

"Your shoulder may be dislocated. I can fix it."

 

Clarke reached up and Lexa took a step back. She didn't need Clarke's help. Instead of accepting Clarke's offer Lexa stood by the cave wall and positioned her shoulder against it. She took a step outwards and rammed her shoulder into the wall. Not the safest method she could have used.. An audible pop rang through the silent cave as Lexa felt a sharp pain and a quick shift of muscle and bone within her shoulder . Lexa grunted and stretched the joint which felt immensely better than before. Simply glancing at Clarke slightly raising her eyebrow Lexa resumed her previous crouching position at the wall.

 

"That's one way to do it," Clarke paused, now standing above Lexa.

 

"When do we leave?" Lexa asked abruptly.

 

"Dawn." Clarke replied, "why?"

 

"Traveling at night would be wiser. Dawn would be when Azgeda could spot us easiest."

 

Clarke cocked an eyebrow at the girl who wasn't even looking at her.

 

"We don't have to leave."

 

"Clarke," it was the first time she had said the name, "it is in your best interest to leave now."

 

"We don't need to leave, and we aren't going to."

 

Lexa stood to face the girl once again before replying forcefully, "you may think you saved my life, but if we leave at dawn Azgeda warriors will find us and it might have been for nothing."

 

"Look, Commander do you want to know why those warriors are out there? Because you failed to fight an army that I thought you controlled." Clarke's frustration could be heard clearly.

 

Lexa stood and swallowed. The girl wasn't wrong, but how did she know about her ruling, or even being Commander?

 

Clarke took a step towards Lexa and continued, "most of your warriors are dead because of you. You grounders have a tendency to want an honorable death as many of those warriors did. You however, wouldn't have had one. You would have been captured and tortured by the Ice Queen and her subjects. I let you die at her hand and I might as well have made the her the new leader of the coalition, and I have more than a few reasons to not want that to happen as I'm sure you do as well."

 

"Your whole point revolves around us not dying. However, leaving at dawn will result in us all dead anyway." Lexa replied with a snarl.

 

Clarke took another step forward causing Lexa to take a step away from the blonde causing her to gently bump into the wall. Now closer than Lexa prefered, Clarke continued, "You need to trust my ability to protect us. You don't understand what we're doing. I am risking everything to keep you alive. The only reason you are alive is because I wanted it. I could have let you die."

 

"Why?" Lexa asked without visible emotion.

 

"Because I believe you aren't like Nia."

 

Lexa switched their positions swiftly. Clarke now had her back against the wall of the cave as Lexa held her forearm across the girl's throat, not pressing but hovering there instead. "I'm not standing around waiting for some stranger to lead me to my death. Now, you need to give me a reason to go along with any plan that you may have."

 

Suddenly Lexa felt the sensation of cold metal against the side of her neck. "I'm going to ask you nicely to get off of my friend."

 

Lexa dropped her arms and took a slow step back. She knew she could easily disarm the girl and just as easily kill her. Lexa was here at her own will, not theirs. They weren't holding her prisoner, she was choosing to stay. Lexa knew that Clarke understood her strength. Octavia was yet to learn, and Lexa was going to teach the girl.

 

Before she could do anything Clarke stepped forward and seemed to know what Lexa was thinking and said, "Trust me."

 

Seeing Lexa's hesitation Clarke added, "O, it's fine."

 

Octavia looked slightly confused but removed the blade from Lexa's neck. "You guys aren't good at being quiet."

 

"I had it handled." Clarke smirked at Octavia.

 

"I don't think..." Octavia was cut off by a loud thump.

 

Lexa turned curiously, because the noise didn't come from outside but instead from behind the rock wall at the opposite side of the cave. Octavia rushed quickly to the wall and removed a sort of disguised cover that Lexa hadn't noticed to reveal a small, narrow tunnel that barely looked wide enough for someone to walk comfortably through. Octavia stuck her head in the opening and said, "You alright?"

 

"I bumped my head then tripped. We're all good though only minor scrapes on my hands. These foxholes are way to small for all of us."

 

"Agreed. Oh and by the way you've gotta be careful. It's dark as hell."

 

Before Octavia stuck her hand out to the person in the wall Clarke stood in front of Lexa almost as if to block her. After hearing shuffling for a bit, Octavia finally managed to help a girl out. The girl stood and stretched her back. "So why are you here?" Octavia asked the girl.

 

"Well Bellamy asked me to see if you guys were here."

 

"Why? I told him I might be gone longer this time. We were planning on coming back to camp tomorrow anyways."

 

"Octavia, he's your brother. He worries." The girl said with a laugh.

 

"He knows I can take care of myself."

 

“Knowing that is not going to stop him.”

 

“Either way,” Octavia said, “how did you get through there in the dark?”

 

"Flashlight." The girl said.

 

Clarke laughed and Octavia stuck her tongue out at her.

 

"Clarke? Who is..." The girl took a step towards Clarke to get a better look at Lexa. She couldn't really see her so she looked over Clarke's shoulder, "...that?" the girl asked curiously.

 

"She was injured." Clarke replied.

 

"Is it a grounder?" The girl asked after a moment of hesitation.

 

“Yes, _she_ is a grounder.” Clarke corrected.

 

“Are you planning on bringing her to he Dropship?” The girl gestured towards the hole that she had emerged from.

 

"I’m planning on bringing her home." Clarke stated.

 

"That's even worse than camp! Do you realize what could happen?!"

 

"Yes." Clarke replied quickly.

 

"Then why?"

 

"I trust her." Clarke glanced over her shoulder at Lexa and flashed a hint of a smile before turning back to the girl.

 

"Do you realize what Pike and Bell would do? Pike has forgiven you for too many mistakes, and bringing a grounder into camp is going to get you killed along with her."

 

Lexa had no idea why Clarke was hiding her knowledge of Lexa's identity from her. Now that the girl was closer to her, Lexa could see that she wore a black suit that looked like armor. On the sleeve of her suit there was a symbol that Lexa couldn't recognize.

 

"You can't tell anyone.” Clarke commanded.

 

“You know Lincoln. You know he's a grounder and he wouldn't hurt us.” Octavia chimed in.

 

One of her best warriors had disappeared without warning. Her scouts hadn't been able to locate him within their territory. If this warrior was the same man they were talking about she wanted to know more.

 

“Lincoln isn't who we're talking about. How do you know she won't kill you?”

 

“I don't.” Clarke replied calmly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed. As you might have noticed I haven't kept the same storyline as the show. I hope it doesn't become confusing. I'm working on making the chapters longer as I go, so the next one will be up within a week. Thanks so much for reading and leaving kudos guys! ❤️


	5. Why?

Lexa stood cautiously behind Clarke. The new girl pointed occasionally at her while Clarke remained calm, handling the girl with patience. At the moment, Lexa felt she was safer with other people, but the feeling of safety seemed to be slowly dissipating. There is a point where there are too many people around to feel safe, and Lexa feared that would be the case if she stayed with these people.

Octavia looked at Clarke and asked silently, “Should I...?”

Clarke acknowledged the question but didn't answer it quite yet, instead she asked Harper, “Will you help us?”

“Help you? Your plan is stupid! It will get you both killed! Why are you willing to risk your life for her?”

“Harper, please. You don’t have to understand. You just have to keep quiet about her.”

“You’re lucky I don’t radio to Bellamy right now! You may have been in charge before, but you can’t just do whatever the hell you want anymore!”

Clarke was obviously taken aback by the words, and instead of responding to the girl Clarke looked at Octavia and gave her a quick nod. The girl didn't notice the exchange between Clarke and Octavia. Clarke turned and almost desperately made eye contact with Lexa as Octavia came up behind Harper's right arm. Lexa analyzed Clarke's face, she looked at Lexa with pure sadness, there could have been tears in her eyes but Lexa wasn't sure. Octavia grabbed at the neck of Harper's armor and threw her backwards towards the wall quickly. Harper’s head hit the wall with a disconcerting smack immediately collapsing to the ground limply. Clarke closed her eyes tightly and took a deep breath before turning around to look at the girl. Octavia gently laid the girl on her back before running to her bag. Clarke walked over slowly and kneeled down on the ground next to the girl and gently lifted her head after checking for a pulse.

“No blood.” Clarke said after looking at the girl's head.

“Good.” Octavia said, still rummaging through her bag.

“Hurry O!”

“God damn it! I’m trying Clarke.”

“Find it faster! If she wakes up we're screwed.”

“HaHa! Got it!” Octavia looked at the vial she pulled out her bag. She enclosed it in her fist and shook it vigorously before running to Clarke’s side.

“Don’t screw up again.”

“Shut up Clarke. One time. One time.”

Octavia opened the vial while Clarke held the girl's mouth open gingerly. Octavia let a few drops of the red liquid fell into the girls open mouth. Clarke sighed and closed the girls mouth. She relaxed a bit and sat on the ground by the girl while Octavia put the vial back in her bag. Lexa walked up behind Clarke and said, “Kikon wamplei.”

“You know it?” Clarke asked. She looked at the girl on the ground while she spoke.

“Yes, it means living death.”

“I know what it means.”

“You made her forget?” Lexa asked.

“Sha.” Clarke replied.

This girl continued to impress and surprise Lexa. Clarke speaking the language of her people caused more questions to flood Lexa's mind, but Lexa decided that it was best not to ask them. They both enjoyed a moment of silence before the sound of crackling static came from Harper’s waist.

“Shit.” Octavia mumbled under her breath. She ran over and crouched next to Clarke.

A deep voice could barely be heard over the loud noise, _“Harper? Hey? Are you there?”_

“What do we do?” Octavia hissed at Clarke.

“I’ve got it.” Clarke reassured as she unclipped the device from Harper’s belt.

She glanced at Octavia, pushed the button on the side of the walkie and said, “Hey Bell.”

_“Oh, Clarke. Where’s Harper?”_

“Yeah about that…”

_“Did something happen? Were you attacked by grounders?”_

“No no. We’re safe. Octavia thought it would be funny to surprise Harper as she came out of the tunnel.”

_“Seems like her. What happened?”_ Bellamy asked.

“Well Harper wasn’t out of there yet when O jumped in front of the opening and scared her. She jumped and hit her head really hard. She knocked herself out but I checked her, she’s fine.”

_“Are you sure she’s okay? Do I need to send help?”_

“No we’ll be fine. She's going to have one hell of a headache, but it's nothing dangerous. We might try and wait till she wakes up, or if it's bright enough I could just carry her through.”

_“As long as you guys will be okay.”_

“We’ll be fine.”

Clarke shut off the walkie and clipped it back onto Harper’s hip.

“O, just sit by her okay?”

“Alright.” Octavia said as she sat beside the girl's head.

Lexa watched Clarke as she stood and grabbed the same cloth she used to clean Octavia’s neck. She put it in a bucket of water and rang it out. She walked over to Lexa and asked, “Your paint?”

Lexa gave a slight nod of consent. Clarke reached up with her hand and held it against Lexa's cheek while she gently applied pressure with the cold cloth to the areas around Lexa’s eyes. Drops of water occasionally fell from Lexa's chin and nose while Clarke continued. When she finally removed the cloth it had splotches of black everywhere.

“Your armor?”

Lexa tensed and looked dangerously at Clarke. “We don't have that much time. I need you to get your armor off.” Clarke said.

Lexa held her distrusting gaze but simultaneously untied the cuffs of her armor. They dropped to the ground at her feet. She fumbled with the three buckles at her waist before unclipping the last one in the middle of her chest. She pulled the long, dark item of clothing off and let it fall behind her. She didn't like having to expose herself in any situation. A leather piece of armor that encased her chest and back showed, also revealing black pants and boots.

“Okay good enough.” Clarke said.

Quickly Clarke pulled her gray hooded jacket off with a swift and quick motion, briefly exposing her stomach. She handed it to Lexa. “It should fit you.”

Lexa reached out with hesitation and took the jacket. It was worn and rather soft. There were a few small holes where the fabric was sewn together. One of the sleeves had black blood on it, presumably from when Clarke carried her, where Lexa's injured leg had rested. She carefully pulled it over her armor, it was loose and baggy on Lexa. It didn't hug her chest and Lexa realized that this hood wouldn't be the ideal thing to fight in. She lifted the hood gently over her head, hiding her intricate braids.

“What do we do now?” Octavia asked.

“Do you think it’s a good idea to wait?” Clarke asked in return.“Then we have to explain why she’s here again.”

“That’s true. Is it light enough to carry her through?”

“Lemme check.” Octavia said. She stuck her head into the tunnel and said, “It’s not too dark. We’d be able to see well enough.”

“Are you going to carry her?” Clarke asked.

“Hell no. I knocked her out. You’re carrying her.” Octavia replied.

“Damn.” Clarke looked at the girl on the ground.

Octavia stated, “Either way, you already said you would carry her. Bell will be expecting you to carry her.”

“O, that’s not a good point at all. You could very well carry her there and he wouldn’t notice.”

“Yeah he would. He’s that kind of person.”

“He doesn't notice shit.” Clarke chuckled.

“You’re willing to bet on that?” Octavia asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Hell yeah. I win and you owe me half your rations for tomorrow.”

“Alright, I’m willing to bet on that. Same thing goes for you if I win.”

Clarke extended her hand out to Octavia. The girl grabbed Clarke’s hand and shook it up and down wildly. Lexa was amused by the transaction. Clarke had gotten Octavia to carry the girl.

Lexa had always noticed small things about people, the way they walked, talked, fought, but this girl seemed like she would be easy to read. Lexa, however, was having trouble figuring Clarke out. She seemed innocent, peaceful, but she fought with almost too much experience for that to be the case. Clarke apparently, was a leader, but lacked the loyalty of people she seemed to care about. She was close to Octavia, and she trusted her completely. The two were a dangerous pair. Clarke seemed like she could lie and talk her way out of situations easily. She was dangerous, but Lexa couldn't read her like everyone else, she couldn't tell what this girl was.

“Okay, so you get Harper, then we'll head to camp.”

“Alright.” Octavia walked over to harper and lifted her off the ground, with a grunt she pulled the girl over her back so that she was laying across Octavia's shoulders. Holding Harper's leg and arm in front of her chest Octavia walked to the entrance of the tunnel. “You ready?”

“Yeah?” Clarke asked while looking at Lexa.

Lexa gave a small nod of compliance.

Octavia entered the tunnel sideways, leading with Harper's feet. She had bend down a bit because of the height which looked incredibly uncomfortable. Clarke gestured at Lexa to enter before her. Lexa had to duck a bit as well which she could already tell would result in becoming a major crick in the neck.

They were tightly packed together even though the tunnel opened up the farther they went. Lexa listened as Clarke dragged her fingertips along the dirt wall, she heard small clumps fall to the ground at the touch. Lexa slowly started feeling pain in her leg, which caused her walk to become a slight limp, but she didn’t stop.

“You're limping.” Clarke suddenly stated.

“No.” Lexa replied.

“Yes you are.”

Lexa didn’t reply to the girl, instead she continued walking in pace with Octavia. After a few more minutes of walking Lexa’s pain worsened. She didn’t say anything, but it was becoming increasingly clear that something was wrong.

“Octavia?” Clarke asked.

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to take a break for a bit?”

“Clarke, sweetie, do you see anywhere we can take a break? Cause I sure as hell can't.”

Lexa knew the girl was right. They couldn’t sit, there was no place to put Harper, and until they got to where they were going there wouldn’t likely be any stopping.

After a moment Clarke replied, “Okay, could’ve lived without the sarcasm, but I suppose you’re right.”

  
“Always am.” Octavia said.

Suddenly Lexa felt Clarke’s hand on her shoulder, causing her to immediately stop walking. Clarke whispered, “I'm sorry.”

Lexa was stunned, she turned her head slightly and nodded. The girl seemed to understand the gesture and removed her hand. Lexa swallowed dryly and resumed walking.

A few moments later the walkie at Harpers waist crackled to life.

_“We might have a problem guys.”_ Lexa didn't recognize the voice.

Octavia stopped walking instantly, causing Lexa to lightly bump into Harpers head before saying quietly, “Atom.”

_“What?”_ Lexa recognized the voice from before, Bellamy.

_“Connor and I keep seeing things move. We don’t know what's going on.”_

_“Are you sure?”_ Bellamy asked.

_“No, that's the problem. I thought Clarke said that they can't come this far out.”_ The boy's voice was laced with fear.

_“She did.”_

_“I think that we need to--”_ the transmission cut out. Lexa heard Octavia's breath speed up, the silence in the cave was eerie. Nobody moved.

_“WE NEED TO RUN!”_

_“What happened?!”_ Bellamy yelled.

_“Atom, he…”_ The words came out in sudden bursts, almost as if the person was running while trying to speak, _“they… He's dead! They're coming at the south wall!”_

_“Shoot them!”_ Bellamy commanded.

_“We can't! We can't see them."_ The voice yelled.

Lexa felt her stomach drop. Those were her warriors. Who had given them the command to attack?

_“Damn it! Someone go to the south tunnel!”_

_“Bellamy! We aren't going to run towards them!”_

_“Yes you are! My sister is in the south tunnel…”_ there was a pause when Bellamy must have remembered, _“Oh my god… Octavia are you there?”_

Octavia reached around and tried to grab the walkie, “No. Octavia. Don't.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Let Bellamy send someone to you.”

The walkie interrupted _“O, are you safe?”_

“What about you?”

“I'm going with the Commander.”

“But where will you guys go?”

“We're going to the bunker. She can't make it there, and if one of the warriors see her…”

“I get it. Be safe.”

“You too.”

Clarke gently put her arm around Lexa's bicep and pulled her back in the direction they had originally come from. Lexa was getting tired of this. She hated being ordered around, not having control.

looking back at Lexa with sorrow Clarke said, “I'm sorry for this.” Lexa was shocked when Clarke broke into a sprint, still having a grip on Lexa's arm caused her to have to run as well. Lexa clenched her jaw and dealt with the pain in every step to keep up with the girl.

Reaching the entrance to the cave Clarke stopped suddenly. She crouched by the cover that she apparently had replaced she let go of Lexa's arm and listened. Lexa heard movement from the cave.

“Heda survived.”

Clarke reached into her boot and revealed a dagger similar to Lexa's. She looked at Lexa and held up one finger. _Wait._

Lexa crouched and leaned against the wall, briefly resting her leg. Clarke waited and then shoved the cover off the wall with her shoulder and jumped out of the hole. The first man never saw Clarke as she stabbed through the base of his skull. Lexa could make out at least two more warriors through the exit. She itched to fight, she needed to do something, she couldn't sit here and do nothing while this girl tried to kill, maybe more than two skilled warriors.

Lexa could no longer see the warriors, or Clarke. She needed a weapon of some sort. She had to do something. Her gaze rested on Clarke’s bow and quiver. She ran, the action ignited more pain in her leg than she had yet to. She finally reached the weapon and fumbled for it. Her hand was shaking, from hunger, from pain, from fear. She firmly held an arrow in her palm. She stood up quickly and looked around.

It looked as if Clarke had thrown her dagger at a second warrior. She was currently trying to dodge the last man's weapon. There was only so much the girl could do. Lexa started to run as best she could at the man. Clarke suddenly cried out as Lexa reached the man. With her good leg she kicked the man in the back of his knees, effectively sending him to the ground. She grabbed his hair and pulled it towards her chest. She reached around and plunged the arrowhead under his chin, she pulled the arrow towards herself, forcing it farther into the man's head.

She dislodged the arrow in a swift moment, ripping the arrow out shredded through the man's skin, causing a large amount of blood to flood the ground.

Lexa took a step back and dropped the arrow. She stood in disbelief. She looked at her bloody hands and then looked at the jacket she had on. Lexa scanned herself and her surroundings, almost as if seeing them for the first time.

What had she done. She had killed her own warrior. It wasn't killing her own warrior that made her feel anything, in fact his death didn't mean much, but yet she was willing to kill one of her own to spare someone she barely knew or trusted. She protected the girl who captured her? She protected the girl who saved her? Why was her instinct to protect this stranger? 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love writing this and I hope you guys enjoy reading it. Feel free to tell me what you think of this chapter.


	6. Something

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love you all, I love your support, and I love writing this for you. Enjoy

_The air in the tunnel was thick and almost threatened to choke her. She heard her steady heartbeat in her ears, along with the men shuffling quietly on the other side of the cover._

_She heard a man speak, “Heda survived.”_

_They knew that the Commander had survived and gotten away. She saw no other way out of the current situation, the immediate options seemed to be to either let them go and share the news, potentially with the Queen, or she could kill them and word would never spread. She had decided it was in her best interest to go with the latter. Her hand drifted down her calf towards the dagger stowed away in her boot. She gripped it's wooden handle and tightened her grip. She had never liked killing, she hoped no one enjoyed it, but she did what she had to do to survive and protect her people. She removed the dagger from her boot and held the flat of the blade to her calf. She hoped that the man who spoke was as close to the wall as she thought he was. She looked back at the Commander and held up one finger, knowing the leader would understand._

_She bounced slightly on her feet in preparation. Using her right leg to push off she threw herself against the cover. It was rather light, her use of power however had not been to knock the thing over, it had been to get to the man faster than he could register her presence. These warr_ iors were quick, she had more than a few run ins with grounders to understand that much.

_She reached him as he realized she was there. He tried to turn around, but everything seemed to be in slow motion for Clarke so it didn't matter. She placed her left hand on the back if his head while simultaneously using her other to drive the blade through the base of his skull. She quickly removed her blade, which instantly was followed by blood which got on her pants along with the hem of her shirt._

_There were two other warriors who she now had the complete attention of. They had drawn their blades as soon as they heard the first man hit the ground. She moved towards the man closest to her and managed to avoid his blade, eventually kicking him backwards slightly._

_Everything was a blur. She moved fast, but so did they. She threw her dagger at the man farthest away from her. He slumped over with a blade imbedded in his forehead. She now faced the last warrior who had recomposed himself. He held his sword elevated at his side and Clarke balanced on her feet, ready to move. He swung and Clarke leaned back as the blade passed inches away from her neck. He then swung down and she stepped to the side, as he brought the blade back up she stepped back. She was almost up against the wall, she needed to do something. He lunged at her and she ducked to the side, her back now less than a foot from the wall she felt extremely cornered. He moved closer and swung at her waist. A fire ignited above her right hip, she cried out and slid down the wall to the cave floor._

_She tightly clasped her hands over the wound applying pressure to the point where she clenched her teeth and held back tears. She could feel the blood seeping through her fingers and dripping from her hands. The blade had penetrated deeply into her side. She needed to stop the bleeding, she had to, but she couldn't move or stand. She prepared herself, he would kill her without hesitation. Tightly closing her eyes she braced herself for death. Ending the hell she had to currently live in didn't sound too unappealing, yet the end never came. She opened her eyes and looked at where the man had been, instead of the warrior her eyes rested on the Commander. Her eyes widened in shock, why? Why would she save her? Clarke's breath evened ever so slightly with relief. She didn't know if the Commander would help her, but if she died like this, at least she knows that she saved the stone cold princess._

\--

She looked at the girl in front of her, Clarke was staring at her, but she couldn’t quite understand the look in the girl’s eyes. Clarke didn't call for assistance, or say anything to Lexa. The girl just sat there in a growing pool of her own blood, staring at the only person who could help her. Lexa had Clarke's life in her hands, and frankly she had no idea what she wanted to do with it. She should go and find other warriors, assuming there were more of them and return to Polis. Yet something was keeping her where she was, looking at the girl, wondering if she should actually help the person who might have saved her life.

The girl tilted her chin up and rested it against the wall. Clarke still hadn't said anything to her, but she could see the girl’s eyes becoming glossy. Lexa’s expression never changed while she watched the girl silently suffer. Something in her chest was pulling at her to help. Yet her head was telling her to leave right now and never look back.

She couldn’t leave.

She shouldn’t save the girl.

But she owed Clarke. She would never admit it to anyone, but Clarke had saved her.

Lexa told herself that she had made the decision with her head and not her heart, but yet, when she removed Clarke's hoodie and held the material in her hands she felt as if both, for once, were telling her the same thing.

She allowed her instincts to completely take over. She almost ran over to the warrior with the blade buried in his face and aggressively dislodged it. Pressing the flat of the blade to her pants she did her best to remove most of the blood and any remaining brain matter from it.

She then drove the blade through Clarke’s garment and cut a long, three inch wide strip of cloth from the base of the thing. She proceeded to take two more sections of material of similar size from the midsection. Walking over to the girl she gently lifted the hem of Clarke’s shirt, revealing the wound. She then tightly wrapped the first section of cloth around the girl's waist, then proceeding to do the same with the second and third strips. Blood quickly stained through the three layers of cloth, but she figured it was better than nothing.

Clarke never spoke to her, the girl just watched her as she tied and Lexa tried to ignore the stare. She looked up for one moment at the girl. There was so much pain in the Clarke’s eyes, but there was something else. The same something that she saw earlier. She knew long she had stared at the girl, but something felt right, something about the peace she found in the girl’s eyes.

She quickly realized exactly what she was doing and looked down at the bandage, pretended to check it one more time. Standing up quickly, ignoring the pain in her leg, she made her way to the small pile of wood across the cave. She bent down, and held multiple pieces of wood with one arm and walked over to the burnt out campfire.

She kneeled infront of the pile of ash and started off placing the smallest of the twigs on it. The fire had been lit not more than ten minutes ago so all that she had to do to get the fire to reignite was gingerly disturb the ash, which resulted in smoke to form, maybe it was dust from the ash, but that theory was soon proved wrong when a few small embers appeared and leapt on the kindling that she had placed atop it. She carefully blew on the small orbs of light which caused the fire to burn slightly faster as she added more oxygen.

Lexa let the kindling completely ignite before she quickly placed slightly larger sticks and added several more twigs as well. She looked up occasionally at Clarke who was slumped against the wall of the cave, still watching her silently with a glimmer of new hope in her eyes.

The fire crackled in front of her and she felt the slightest bit of heat as she looked at the girl. She meant nothing, but then, there was something. She had no idea what she was doing, she had never spared the life of anyone. This girl was no different than the rest, she was meaningless to her. She spent a moment looking at the temporary bandage she had created for the girl as the blood stain on it seemed to grow steadily.

While she waited, she held the girl's blade in her hand and traced over the design that was on the metal. Clarke had engraved one side of the blade with the forest. She could tell where the trees ended and the sky began, but yet there was something about it, something beautiful that held them together. Almost as if the earth and sky could never let go of each other.

On the opposite side Clarke had engraved what looked like a poem, but she couldn’t tell what the short paragraph said. The hilt of the dagger was carved slightly, but not with a distinctive design. There were sloppy marks everywhere on it, Lexa traced her fingers over the marks and couldn’t place what they were supposed to be. The dagger was a work of art. She had never seen a decorated blade used in battle. Her people would create designs on blades of swords, but they weren't ever used in battle.

She twisted the point of the blade against her index finger and almost instantly a small, slow stream of black liquid traveled down her finger and into her palm.

The blood pooled slightly in the creases of her palm. She removed the blade from her finger and turned her hand into a closed fist. She let the blood slowly gather until it fell from her hand and landed silently on the ground in front of her. Then opening her hand she looked at it, the majority of it had some amount of blood on it, whether it was her’s or the warrior she had killed, it didn’t matter. She hadn’t intended on drawing as much blood as she did, but the blade was sharper than she had initially expected.

She sat and stared at the fire, waiting, waiting for what felt like a dangerous amount of time. The fire had finally settled to shimmering orange crystals which radiated heat. She gingerly placed the blade in the embers, minding the wooden hilt, and watched as it slowly became hotter and hotter.

“I made that you know.” Clarke spoke from her position at the wall.

Lexa simply nodded her head in acknowledgement.

“I found the dagger one day, and something about it felt _special_.” Clarke didn’t seem to be talking to Lexa, it seemed like she was telling the story to herself.

“I kept it, cleaned it. It’s beautiful. I never really use it unless I have to.”

She listened, but kept her gaze trained on the fire.

“It’s just that,” the girl took a deep shaky breath, and she wondered if she had ever talked about this with anyone, “it’s a happy memory. I keep it, not to kill, not to inflict pain,” the girl took another deep breath before continuing, “it’s a happy memory, peaceful.” Clarke laughed at herself, but yet she seemed to be holding back tears.

“Kind of ironic don’t you think?” Lexa didn’t know what had made her speak up. She hadn’t even thought about it, but yet it just came out.

Clarke obviously hadn’t expected anything from her and asked quietly, “what?”

“That a dagger inspires peace. For my people, nothing that kills would be seen as peaceful.”

Clarke remained silent but then spoke up, “What do you think?”

“I am something that kills.” Lexa replied coldly.

Lexa wrapped her fingers around the hilt of the dagger, ignoring the burning sensation from the embers inches away from her fingers. She picked up the glowing blade and stood carefully.

She made her way to the girl who looked at her with fear, and thanks in her eyes. Kneeling in front of the girl, she carefully, with one hand untied the knots she had done.

Once all of the cloths were removed from around the girl's waist she held her hand to the skin above the girls wound, it was cold beneath Lexa’s hand and she became slightly worried. She looked at Clarke and the girl gave her a quick nod. Lexa instantly placed the scalding blade against the girl’s side, yet she never broke eye contact with the girl. Clarke’s eyes watered, and she clenched her jaw tightly, but didn’t make a sound as Lexa applied an intense amount of pressure to the girl's skin. She heard the skin and blood sizzling beneath the metal, but did not look away from Clarke.

She continued to hold the blade against the skin for a few moments longer before removing it. The skin was burned, but not to the point of disfiguration. The wound had sealed itself and the blood had stopped.

She leaned back on her heels and sighed. She didn’t have to save her life, but yet she did. She still gripped Clarke’s dagger in her hands, the blade slowly dulling from its previously orange color. Once again, she examined the blade, its designs were still there, she hadn’t ruined the girls work except for the wooden handle. It was burned ever so slightly where it had been placed in the fire. Lexa knew that the handle wouldn't have burned completely, but the dagger was a piece of art, and she felt as if she had done something to corrupt it.

She got one one knee and pushed herself onto her feet. The fire still had a glow from the almost burnt out embers. She stomped on what remained of her fire. Smoke rose from around her feet. Her eyes started to sting, so she took a few steps back.

Lexa heard something. It was momentary and silent, but it was there. Someone was there.

“Clarke.”

The girl looked up at her expectantly.

“Clarke, stand.”

Clarke looked confused but managed to push herself weakly up the side of the wall till she was leaning against it.

“What?” Clarke asked.

“Shut up.” Lexa commanded.

She saw a shadow dance slowly across the wall, someone had come in the entrance of the cave. A man walked forward, a man with white stripes across his face.

He spoke in a deep, mountainous voice, “So the Commander lives,” he paused and looked at Clarke once before he spoke, "and she has a pet.”


	7. Let her forget

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS I'm so sorry that this took so long. I swear I have maybe 5 drafts of this Chapter. I'm dying. I had an inspiration at midnight. It's so early in the morning, and I'm so eager to share this that I didn't proof it so I'm very sorry for any mistakes.

The white war paint was all that she needed to tell that he was Azgeda. Yet there was something else. He wore a hooded piece of armor that hid most of his features. Long strands of dark brown hair fell from beneath his hood.  
  
His rumbling voice filled the silent cave, “I thought you might be here.”

Lexa had no idea where she was, but apparently this warrior did. She remained silent, ignoring the knots that seemed to be tying themselves within her stomach. Something felt wrong, but she didn't know what it was. Her body went cold and it felt as if fingers of ice were tracing her spine. She swallowed tightly and anxiously readjusted the grip on Clarke's dagger.

“But tell me this Heda, how did you get here?”

She didn’t dare look at the girl who helped her, but she could hear the girl shift against the wall. The man glared at Lexa, only to then slowly turn to Clarke. He reached behind his back and withdrew his sword. He pressed the blade firmly into the ground and stood behind it.

He watched Clarke a moment longer before returning his attention to Lexa, “Her?”

Lexa clenched her jaw, but didn’t address the man.

Then he suddenly let out a sound from deep within his chest, a deep rolling laugh emerged from his throat. Lexa fixed her vision on his neck, instantly deciding on using his moment of distraction to her advantage. She brought her arm back and let her instinct take over. Let her mind wander. She didn’t even need to focus on her movement, it was ingrained into her very being. A familiar movement that had saved her time and time again. The memory of the repeated motion gave her a rush of power, she was herself when she was fighting, she was herself when she was at war. But she had always silently wished that this had not been her life. That she had grown up normally with a family, and friends, instead of being transported to Polis as a young girl.

The slight buzz that the dagger created while cutting through the air shook her from her thoughts. The man's composure changed in an instant, and he moved ever so slightly out of the way of the blade causing it to lodge itself into the wall behind him.

He turned and looked at the weapon that had just been thrown at him before he addressed Lexa, as if she hadn't just attempted to kill him, “She helped you?” He resumed.

Once again he glanced at Clarke before letting out a light chuckle, “ _She_ helped you?” He paused and looked down at the ground in front of him. Without looking up he spoke, “Heda Leksa. Commander of the blood. You were saved by a sky person, and _this_ sky person at that!” He exclaimed.

She didn't like the feeling currently rushing through her body, it felt as if she was falling, she wasn't in control, the situation didn’t suit her.

“I've been searching for this bitch. She's indeed the one that got away." He hissed, pointing to Clarke.

She looked at Clarke, who was staring back at her quietly. She had a strange look in her eyes, not fear, but what looked like horror. The girl stood stoic and pale, frozen to her podium of earth.

Showing any fault emotionally could encourage the man across from her to act. She steadily held her ground, but simultaneously her head felt like a hurricane, swirling and crashing with questions, emotions, _confusion_ , realization. She had killed one of her own warriors to save the life of a sky person.

With his hand he gestured towards the three warriors, lying dead on the ground, “I see you ran into those three.” He turned and walked quickly over to the first warrior Clarke had killed, “I never really was too fond of any of them, Trai for one, was a major pain in my ass.” He said, flipping the body over roughly with the tip of his boot. He paused a moment to look at the fallen warrior and turned, not to Lexa, but to Clarke instead, “Thanks _girly_.”

Clarke seemed to never take her eyes off Lexa, never daring to look at the stranger, eyes drained of all of the power and spark that Lexa had seen previously. Lexa was curious and confused as to how the man knew that Clarke had killed the man and not her.

“Lexa.” Clarke's voice surprised her, it broke ever so slightly, and if Lexa had thought longer about it she might have noticed the plea hidden beneath her name. Clarke attempted to gain the Commander's attention, instead she received a gaze that she felt in her chest, effectively causing her throat to tighten.

Lexa turned back to the man, slightly regretting the impulsive look she had thrown at Clarke.

He walked along the cave wall dragging his sword behind him, watching the space between himself and Lexa carefully, and made his way over to Clarke.

This warrior deeply stunned Lexa. Never in all her years had she seen a warrior act like this. He dragged his weapon carelessly, he spoke so confidently around her, like she couldn't kill him, like he was stronger.

He got up by Clarke's side and leaned in so he was close to her ear, “Hey there skygirl, long time…”

Clarke turned her head away from him, eyes sewn shut, and leaned as far away as she could, only managing to put herself an extra few inches away from the apparent creep of a warrior.

The man brought his hand up and dragged his knuckles slowly along Clark's jaw, she threw her head back and forth trying to rid herself of his touch. He held her chin between his fingers and forced her eyes to meet his. She fought his grip but he held her there.

“So _pretty_.” He said, tilting his head to look at her.

“Step away from her.” Lexa commanded harshly.

“Ohh. Lexa. _Darling_ ,” The way he said the word ‘darling’ ignited a fire that she knew could show through her very being. Nobody who addressed Lexa as anything other than Heda could give you a firsthand account of their punishment. Why? They were already six feet under from the moment they spoke, “What, are you, going to do?”

“What do you want with the girl?”

“You see Lexa, the question is…” Before he continued he looked at Clarke and yanked her head to the side, but released his hold on her as well as his sword, only to reach behind his back to reveal a small dagger, not more than 4 inches in length, and waved it in Lexa's direction while he spoke, “what do _you_ want with her?”

Lexa didn't reply, because she didn't want anything from her, or with her, but there was something about the way Clarke was looking at her that slightly concerned her. Even when Clarke had had her hip sliced open she hadn't said a word, hadn't asked for anything, but yet after killing two fully armed warriors with only a dagger Lexa could only imagine what was scaring her about this man…

“You see this isn't the first time I've run into your Clarke Griffin here.” He turned to smile at Clarke and returned his gaze to Lexa with a giant grin on his face, he didn't break eye contact with Lexa, but extended his arm out to his side, grabbing ahold of Clarke's neck, with an evil darkness to his voice, “And wasn’t that just so… Much… Fun!” He threw Clarke forward, sending her a foot or so into the air, causing her to land on her back with a loud thump. She slid a few inches along the earth, disrupting the dirt, forming a small cloud around her person.

Clarke tried to inhale, finding that her body refused to let itself breathe. She clawed at the ground, digging her fingers into the dirt. Finally after nearly half a minute of writhing on the ground she breathed in, loud, and desperate, the kind of breath you take after being underwater too long, when your lungs cry out and beg you to inhale, but you know you can't, so you claw your way up as fast as you can, you break the surface and finally, you can breathe.

Lexa took a sharp heavy breath as he resumed normally ignoring Clarke, “She got me here,” he first pulled back his hood, revealing rather chiseled features, small amounts of scarred skin spotted the expanse of his face. then pulling down his collar and exposed his rough, stubbly neck. Right above his collarbone was a noticeable scar that had to have been pretty severe to leave the mark it did.

He turned to Clarke, Lexa's gaze followed quickly to her, she had rolled onto her side and was panting loudly.

“You should see where I got her.” He said with a cackle.

Lexa scowled at the man before her. She may be a skygirl, or what have you, the girl was a person and the longer Lexa listened and watched the more pieces she was able to put together.

“You are no warrior of mine.” Lexa stated fiercely.

“Ahh. Honey. Seriously? I'm offended,” He scoffed and put his hand over his heart in mockingly, “so you thought when you saw me that I was one of your warriors?”

“You wear our mark.” Lexa nodded at the mark on his chest, she had seen it when he revealed his scar.

“Ahh yes. That. I got it because your men kept interrupting me and my work. They would try to take me with them as a prisoner because I didn’t, ‘bear their mark’… Very inconvenient.”

Lexa stood still. Who was this man? A rouge? Sometimes warriors would flee and never return, the weak, those who could not handle war.

“You thought I would bow to you?” He asked, face shining with humor, “ha! A girl who can't even control her own nations! You being in charge is like, hmm, a deer being asked to lead a pack of wolves.”

Lexa's core burned and twisted upon itself. The man's eyes taunted her, daring her to challenge him. Lexa had to think. She wanted to tie him up and let the scavengers clean up this disease of a person. But she had to be wise, so she had to wait.

He strode quickly over to Clarke, sheathed his dagger, and grabbed a handful of her hair yanking her painfully up to her feet. Lexa observed the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes, “You see her! Hmm! She’s a fighter. She's got a fire in her,” he leaned in close to Clarke, “I like fire.”

Lexa watched as a silent tear fell from Clarke's eye and made it's way slowly down to meet the corner of the girl's quivering lip.

That was it.

Lexa stepped forward, throwing herself at the man. He reached out for her arm, but she ducked swiftly and from below, she elbowed him with unwavering in the chin. He stepped backwards only to stop and smile at Lexa. He turned his head and opened his mouth, letting blood fall freely from his bleeding lip. Shaking his shoulders and shifting his jaw around he yelled ecstatically, “Whoo!” Lexa gazed at him, perplexed, “You're tougher than I thought. My turn.”

He rushed at Lexa. She ducked out of his grasp only to realize he wasn't trying to grab her. His boot collided with her shin, sending her sprawling forward. Letting her momentum take her forward she extended her arms, rolling over her shoulders and popping up swiftly in an instant.

“Not bad. But I would advise you to roll over the center-line of your back, not your shoulders.” Lexa looked at him stunned, he shrugged and smiled as he picked up his sword from the dirt at his feet.

“Round 2. Should I start? Or do you…” He gestured between himself and Lexa.

Lexa realized that Clarke's dagger wasn't that far away from where the man was standing. She stood, weight on her back foot, ready.

“Me then.”

He took a few steps towards Lexa and pulled out the same dagger he had revealed before. The blade danced over his fingers as he spun it quickly over his knuckles. Lexa waited, watching, as he continued to play with his weapon. Without warning he moved with lightning fast reflexes. Hurling his knife at Lexa with devastating speed. Having almost no time to react, she tried to move out of the way as fast as she could. On the bright side she didn’t feel the pain, she only noticed the blood when a slow stream had formed, bringing the dark liquid to the corner of her mouth. She reached up and touched her cheek, pulling away she saw that her fingertips were coated heavily in her blood.

She stood in awe, in pain, in surprise. Not more than a select few had ever gotten a hit like that off of Lexa.

He shrugged, “All in the wrist.” he said while twisting his hand.

“I suppose it’s my turn.” Lexa inquired.

She had no idea how to strategically attack this man. She had almost nothing to use to her advantage. He had all the weapons, the only one he didn’t have happened to be behind him. Maybe instinct would be best. Just doing whatever her body told her to do.

She let her brain and her body set themselves on this very unappealing idea. She closed her eyes. Opening them with utter focus. She let herself be taken, forward, under. Instead of seeing the moment in slow motion like most people would see, she saw it fast, reacting instantaneously and powerfully to jabs, punches. From his meaningless attempts at punching, to her perfectly placed contact points. Knee to stomach. Elbow to throat. If he had hit her, she hadn’t felt it, she couldn’t let pain slow her down. Adrenaline pumped through her veins. Making her feel stronger, faster, powerful, invincible.

Lexa stood before her opponent, battered and bruised taking deep breaths of air. The man himself, kneeled before her, holding his shoulder. His left eye swelled purple and blue, his lip busted and bleeding freely. Spots on his face where you could already see bruises forming.

She watched as he panted taking ragged breaths of air. The dagger grabbed her attention from behind the slump of a creature before her. The wall released the blade rather quickly. Once again she looked at the blade in her hand.

“You are vicious.” he chuckled from behind her, but his laugh turned into a quiet cough, “You’ve got fire.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a kudos for support. I love all of you and thanks for putting up with me.

**Author's Note:**

> I tried so hard to make the fight sequences as amazing as I imagined them. Chapter 2 will come out really soon.


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